Mentoring can provide great benefits to any enterprise when implemented properly. The following article discusses aspects not often considered when introducing mentoring.

1. People like to mentor

People are flattered when asked to mentor someone. It is recognition they have an expertise, knowledge or skill that someone else has noticed and values. The mentor does not have to be particularly senior in an organisation and can act as a mentor to someone more senior

2. Mentoring can be scary

When the mentor is new to mentoring, they worry about their abilities and the mentee’s expectations. All mentors require training to prepare them for their role and to give a structure to the process.

3. Mentoring is rewarding

The mentor gains from being a mentor in that it raises their self-confidence and helps them realise how much they know. When explaining something to a mentee the mentor sometimes realises an assumption may not be correct, re-evaluates a procedure, and implements a needed change.

4. Mentoring can be bi-directional

The majority of mentoring programmes assume a single direction, that of a senior person mentoring someone more junior. In practice senior people gain from the detailed and more up to date knowledge of junior people on the implementation of strategy, customer feedback and the use of technology.

5. Mentoring can accelerate your career

When your organisation recognises you as a mentor, it is recognising your value to the organisation. As you mentor more people, your mentees spread the word about your abilities and knowledge and more people consult you for advice. All of this recognition will help to accelerate your career.

6. Mentoring needs a structure

It is important that mentoring does not become a talking shop used to boost the ego of the mentor. The mentee requires specific goals and set timeframes to assimilate knowledge. The mentor should record agreed actions, for both the mentor and mentee and review these at subsequent meeting. A certain element of mentoring can be open ended and on-going but this should be relatively small.

7. Mentoring provides a high return on investment

The cost of a mentoring programme is relatively small even taking into account opportunity costs and administration. Research is producing statistics demonstrating higher employee satisfaction, higher employee retention rates and higher quality performance

Michael Daly is a highly experienced international executive coach and mentor. Details can be seen at http://www.ecam.nu

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